As the world descends upon Las Vegas for IBS 2009, undoubtedly, many will be walking through a stylish and posh idea house designed for the show. The New American Home is a running tradition and every year brings another one. I guess you could say it's a real life exhibition of the latest and greatest trends in home design. This year, as mentioned by BusinessWeek earlier, the trends include indoor/outdoor living, basement inclusion, the home office, wireless technology, less ostentation, and having a green badge of honor. The New American Home 2009 is claimed to be net-zero energy (based on the combined efforts of super efficiency and on-site power generation), and is definitely technologically advanced. Let's look further …

Jay Leno’s all about the green tech, I mean, his garage is running on wind and solar, and it powers approximately two-thirds of the place. So recently, he just put up this video demonstrating a new technology for rooftop wind applications. The Mag-Wind turbine is made by Enviro Energies and both Jay Leno and Ed Begley Jr. have their own versions on order. Naturally, Leno was excited to point out that his turbine will be bigger than Begley’s, but in addition to that, you’ll get an idea from the video how interesting the technology actually is. It’s built using magnetic levitation technology that reduces friction, noise, vibration, and energy loss. Some other interesting aspects of the Mag-Wind System include:

Cambridge Architectural recently released a new product called Solucent, an architectural mesh system for building interiors and exteriors. To market the product, they’ve created a clever tagline, too: "Where the Sun and Shade Mesh." This statement conveys two concepts. First, that architectural mesh is a flexible daylighting material that can be used to allow the desired amount of natural lighting through (and save costs on electrical lighting). Second, the mesh also reduces interior solar heat gain by shading the sun, a feature that also leads to energy savings on cooling costs.

Dean Kamen is a well-known entrepreneur and inventor of various technologies, including the Segway, Project Slingshot, and a hybrid electrical car with a Stirling engine. He’s also trying to establish an independent, net-zero energy island off the coast of Connecticut. The three-acre private island is called North Dumpling, and if granted his wishes, it would have its own constitution, flag, and national anthem. Kamen’s attempts at secession haven’t been successful yet, but that’s no surprise given the South wasn’t able to do it either. He has found success installing LEDs and saving energy, though.

I’ve been a happy and devoted Haworth Zody user for over a year and my chair is time-tested, blogger-approved — it’s a beautiful hoss. But my other chair, the office one, is quite hobbled and needs replacing. So when I was walking the exhibit floor at Greenbuild, the Herman Miller Embody chair caught my eye in a big way. Depending on the color you go for, it’s a loud chair, if not flamboyant, but that’s all part of its intrinsic ambition — and probably why Embody will be the next, must-have chair for stylish office types.

IBM is becoming gradually more involved in the world of clean tech, so it’s not surprising that their third annual "IBM Next Five in Five" includes a mention of solar power. The list includes five innovations that will change the way people work, live, and play over the next five years. Accordingly, IBM thinks energy saving solar technology will be built into asphalt, paint, and windows. Basically, with the advent of thin-film solar cells and advances in technology, everything everywhere will have solar cells and harvest energy. And the technology to do so will be affordable, too.